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Wednesday, July 31, 2013

His Highness the Amir Sheikh
Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah pardoned all people who were accused of
offending the Amir, as he expressed optimism that the next parliament would
witness development and work on diversification of income. “I am pleased on the
occasion of the last 10 days of Ramadan to grant an Amiri amnesty on all those
convicted of offending the Amir to be effective immediately,” said Sheikh Sabah
in his speech to the nation. His Highness the Amir also said that Kuwait in the
14th legislative term of the National Assembly would witness promising approach
toward “horizons of progress of development and serious action for income
diversification.”(link)

I'm sure that is a relief for the Kuwaiti female who was supposed to serve jail time for bad mouthing the Amir.

Monday, July 29, 2013

Dubai's Attorney General said on Sunday that the cases against a government official accused of assaulting a van driver have been dropped. They had arrested the Emirati guy and the poor guy who recorded the video because he posted the video online with "intent to cause damage." (link)

People are probably scared to record crimes now if they might end up in jail, another blow to justice for victims. Is a person supposed to yell "hey I'm recording your crime" to make sure they aren't arrested?

Friday, July 26, 2013

The new Bentley 4x4 which has a 6.0-litre 185mph vehicle whicc accelerates from rest to 60 mph in under 4 second is set to go on sale from 2016. It also comes with a complete picnic set which includes champagne glasses.(link)

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Looks like the future generations of Kuwaitis are in trouble!According to Arabian Business: Kuwait’s economic and legal framework is “repellent” to investment, including from within the country, a damning independent report has found.Kuwaitis invested about $37bn internationally in 2012 compared to only $398m domestically, according to the report by Leaders Group, a Kuwaiti consultancy and event management company.“[The figures are] a clear indication that Kuwait’s environment remains repellent to investment,” the report says, according to Kuwait Times.Kuwait receives only 1 percent of all foreign direct investment into Arab states, while it accounts for 35 percent of Arab FDI within the region, the report says.The lack of local investment was particularly harming the Gulf state’s virtually non-existent tourism sector, driving Kuwaitis to holiday outside the country while it spent $7bn on touristic ventures in other countries.The government was failing to create initiatives to attract investment or promote touristic projects that would entice Kuwaitis to holiday at home as well as draw in international tourists and the country did not market itself as a touristic destination or have organised tours, the report says.Little land is allocated for tourism activities while vacant land is expensive, encouraging investors to look elsewhere.Complications in project licensing, compared to in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, also is a hindrance, according to the report. Investors can only participate in Kuwait under a buy-operate-transfer arrangement.

The report highlights Kuwait’s lack of development, particularly along its coast, while neighbouring states build artificial islands that attract billions in investment and tourist receipts.The International Monetary Fund warned earlier this year Kuwait was failing to make the most of its oil wealth, with little to no investment for the future.It said the country’s oil revenues would no longer out-weigh its spending, causing the first deficit since 1998, by as early as 2017. The IMF forecasts that in 2017-2018 Kuwait’s oil revenues will be about KD25bn ($87.9bn) compared to KD29bn in spending.“Kuwait is at a crossroads for conserving wealth [for] the future,” IMF deputy division chief of the Middle East and Central Asia Department, Ananthakrishnan Prasad said.“Our estimates show that government expenditure will exhaust all oil revenues by 2017, which means no portion of these oil revenues would be available for future generations.“There has to be a shift in policy in Kuwait and Kuwait will have to start saving more and have to start reducing their spending.
Kuwait Times article

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

I've been reading comments from half-Kuwaiti kids on Facebook, there's a group for them and they voice their opinions about everything. Is it hard to grow up as a half-breed here? As a mother of children who are half-American quarter Kuwaiti and quarter Moroccan I wonder how they will be treated in the future. Most of the people in the FB group are being raised mainly by their mothers who are divorced from their fathers, does that make a difference?

One of the guys mentioned he was a teacher and he read papers from Kuwaiti students which were about foreign women marrying Kuwaiti men and ruining the Kuwaiti heritage. I can see where they are coming from actually. Maybe the students feel that way because sometimes the foreign mother doesn't become Muslim and they continue to practice their own religion which could confuse the child? One of the girls had mentioned children who have a Kuwait mother and foreign father tend to act more Kuwaiti? The mother really does have the most influence on children.

I know mixed children can be called McChicken because they speak English but not Arabic or their Arabic is not so great which makes them stand out. Personally I am sending my kids to government school so they can learn Arabic and grow up with other Kuwaiti children as private schools are a joke and hardly anyone learns to read and write Arabic.

I visited a friend of mine who is Hispanic and married to a Kuwaiti whose mother is Iraqi and he and his siblings grew up in the states. She cannot read or write Arabic and speaks a little which means she can't help her kids with Arabic studies and because the father grew up in the states he doesn't speak or write Arabic very well. They have 3 kids and they all go to private schools because their parents can't help them with Arabic which is sad because Arabic is the way of life here and one must be able to read and write to get a good job.

Another American friend who had 2 daughters already when she married a Kuwaiti brought them to Kuwait and put them in government schools because they were young and today they are all adults and speak Arabic like Kuwaitis. There are so many stories out there and so many different ways of life within Kuwait. From my experience I see children whose mothers have become Muslim raise their children in a more Kuwaiti cultural way and those who do not convert have children who are more westernized. I am trying to gain as much knowledge about Kuwait so I can teach my children.

Marriage is such a complicated thing, just because you marry a Kuwaiti woman doesn't mean the children are going to be great especially with the high divorce rate going on and if you marry a foreign woman how will your children be brought up? We can raise our children as best as we can and hope they turn out to be tolerant human beings.

Let us not forget the Kuwaiti children left behind by their fathers who studied abroad, had relationships and families but decided to leave them behind to return to Kuwait.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

It's always nice to see handicrafts being made in front of your eyes. This shops has hand made dhows with the Kuwaiti guy making them as you watch. I hope everyone takes a visit to the village and support the few remaining artisans. It would be great if there were programs teaching classes on how to make these items. The art will be lost if the new generations are not taught customs and life in the old days. Sadu house has a class for weaving Sadu rugs that might be something I will check on in the future.﻿

This shop has all kinds of things from the early days of Kuwait unfortunately it was closed at that time which means I will have to visit again when it gets cooler.

The old Kuwaiti type coffee shop.

I really don't know what shops are open daily, they close up for prayer times and the museum that's there is closed and opens when the owner feels like it.

Monday, July 22, 2013

So should a Disneyland Kuwait be on the cards? “Why not? I am sure Dubai is going to come with Disneyland soon but if you had a Disneyland Kuwait that would be a great attraction. [The government] can have a part in it but I think the private sector would be able to manage it better.” There you go — Disneyland Kuwait, you read it here first- Arabian Business (older article)
That would be great! Entertainment City is too far and old, "Kuwaiti Disneyland" closer to the city would definitely boost tourism but they would have to hire "real" security guards who can handle the trouble makers.

I think Dubai has already beat Kuwait according to this article, once again great idea with no backbone and too much red tape.

Friday, July 19, 2013

Saudi authorities banned on Wednesday Ethiopian workers from entering the country following reports of crimes against children allegedly committed by housemaids from the African nation.

The labour ministry and the interior ministry have agreed to "temporarily" stop the importation of workers from Ethiopia, SPA state news agency said.

It said the ban will remain in place until the completion of investigation into "recent incidents", in reference to alleged crimes reported in local media.

Several media outlets have reported instances of children being killed allegedly by Ethiopian domestic workers, including two cases in the capital.

The kingdom introduced this week new rules setting the rights for domestic workers, including getting a weekly day off and being paid on time. (link)
It's about time as there have been several children murdered as recently as last week and an attempted murder happened yesterday.

Ghabga is a social gathering between Iftar (breaking fast) and Suhoor (dawn meal). We invite you to our Ghabga and Gigia’an Night to discuss &share some tips about Girgia’an, and Ghabga. We will also share some Eid Tips and discuss the customs and Traditions of Eid. Kindly register at joumana@aware.com.kw

Here's a girgi3an video which was filmed at Youm Al Bahar- The sailor's day heritage Village I've been posting about.

As in the past, on the thirteen, fourteenth and fifteenth nights of Ramadan, children wander through the neighborhood in groups dressed in traditional outfits. They keep singing and praying to Allah to protect the children of the houses they visit. The mothers give them candies and nuts in celebration. It's kind of like halloween in the states minus the pumpkins.

It's official, FF7 will start filming in Dubai around September 2013 and some of the local folks might be in the final cut as well. It's time to take a trip to Dubai considering I was in California when they were filming for the first movie, I remember the producers calling for cars to appear in the movie and at that time all of the Khaleeji guys had sweet rides like Supras and Acuras and they tried to get their cars in the movie. The late 90's in California was the place to be!